Believe in Yourself

I've shared the story with you already about how, several years back while on a motorcycle ride I came across three signs that all said the same thing - the EXACT same thing. What was the message on the signs? The same message that you see in the graphic above. 

Now, listen, when I see the SAME message on three different - and unrelated - signs, all on the same day, it kind of gets my attention!

And, it's the "next-to-last" phrase that is found on the poster that I have gotten the topics from for the last several articles (and podcasts). 

We live in a world where it is easy to begin to doubt yourself. Right? We have all likely experienced someone else (or SEVERAL "someone else's") that felt it was their right to tell us that we were worthless or less than what they thought they deserved. This could be true in personal relationships as well as the workplace. Many times children are abused by the constant negative and demeaning comments made to them by someone in their life.

And, it's also easy to "beat ourselves up" by repeating those same, negative remarks to ourselves. I've had people tell me, "I've been told that all of my life so, it must be true!"

Too, sometimes, we just begin to doubt ourselves because we have not been the "success" that we had envisioned for ourselves.

But, friend, listen...wherever you find yourself in all of this and whatever the reason for your self-doubt, hear me and hear me loud and clear. YOU ARE SOMEONE SPECIAL! (Be sure to read the next article and also be sure to listen to the podcast on that topic). 

You MUST begin the process of believing in yourself! I understand that it is very difficult for some people and, to be honest, it may actually require the help of a professional to get you past some of the verbal abuse that you may have endured. If so, seek it out and take advantage of this help. 

Hey listen, you may find this hard to believe but, even people like myself struggle with self-doubt. Yes. Me. 

However, I understand that I MUST believe in myself if I am going to keep moving forward in a positive mindset and positive lifestyle. I know that I MUST believe in myself if I am going to continue on toward my goals and dreams.

Will there be others that will try to deter me from this goal? OF COURSE! That will ALWAYS be true! Will my own mindset, at times, try to sabotage this process? Absolutely! That is why it is so important to do all that I can to continually absorb as much positive information as possible.

Take a few moments and listen to the podcast (see the two links below!) and BE ENCOURAGED!

Stop doubting yourself and take heart. You ARE someone in whom you can believe in and trust! Yes, YOU!

Until next time, friend, whatever you do, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Future You University   FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

First of FOUR AGREEMENTS

Speak With Integrity - Say Only What You Mean

Avoid Using the Word to Speak Against Yourself or to Gossip About Others

Use the Power of Your Word in the Direction of Truth and Love

 

* * * * * *

 

An old High School friend of mine recently posted "The Four Agreements" on her Facebook page and I instantly knew that I wanted to use it for my blog and podcast as soon as I could.

 

Before I go any further let me go ahead and share with you the rest of the list so that you can know what we will be talking about over the next few days:



     2. Don't Take Anything Personally

     3. Don't Make Assumptions

     4. Always Do Your Best

 

Would you already agree with me that following these "Four Agreements" can and will make a major impact on you and those around you? Can you see how putting these into practice on a daily basis will improve and heal relationships and that families can be healed and changed and that, yes, even whole communities could be nudged for such change as well?

 

Yes, our world has had liars in it since the beginning. The old devil himself showed himself to be a liar and is later described as "the father" of all lies (John 8:44).

 

Even though that is true I would still say that this (lying) is something that has become more prevelant today than in the past and that the idea of taking someone at their word - their TRUE word - is pretty much a thing of the past.

 

What is your take on that?

 

Lies HURT people and DESTROY relationships! Yet, it seems that, for many, it is a way of life when, in reality, it is nothing but a way of death (death to any and all relationships sooner or later).

 

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD!

 

Whoever came up with the oft-quoted saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me!" may have had good intentions but, friend, we all know that this is absolutely UNTRUE. I'm not sure that the originator of that phrase meant to lie, but that is exactly what it is.

 

We must be so careful with how we use our words

 

Words can heal as well as destroy. They can build up or they can tear down. They can put a smile on another's face or they can cause one to break down in tears. Both for the good and the bad, words can leave an impact that can last years and years.

 

You can look at the specifics in the graphic and right underneath the graphic in case you can't make out the words and consider each point for yourself.

 

Bottom line: All of this mentioned simply causes each of us to THINK before - BEFORE - we speak! If your hurtful words were bullets, would you be a little more careful?

 

I'd hope so. Just remember that hurtful words definitely can leave invisible scars that can last a lifetime.

 

Thank you for your time and for sharing this article with anyone and everyone that you think would benefit from it's content. I appreciate that, friend.

 

Until next time, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike


Future You University   "Like" FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

                                        Begin Your Better Life Here!

Created Victorious!

This really brings the week's focus to a good ending to tie up all that we've discussed.

I would suggest that, if you are one that has struggled with the things we have discussed this week, you actually print this off and post it somewhere that you can see it and read it daily.

"From Victim to Victor" has turned out to be the theme of the week. NO MORE!

Understand what is worded in the graphic above - YOU WERE CREATED VICTORIOUS!

I really want to encourage you to listen to the podcast on this topic. You can find the links at the end of the article.

As I've said before, you may not be a believer in God or the Bible but, at the same time, I want to encourage you to read what the Bible has to say about how God feels about you! You - yes YOU - were made in the image of God! He loves you and wants the best for you.

It is a slow process, but you need to begin to STAND on the belief that, indeed, you WERE and ARE created to be VICTORIOUS!

I do understand that it is easier said than done. Especially for those of you that, perhaps, grew up being degraded and devalued. Perhaps you are one that has suffered through years of marriage to a spouse that has degraded and/or devalued you. It's not always physical or verbal! It may be that they have treated you in such a way as to make it clear that they put you last on the list, that you don't matter. (Remember, it's time to stop living a life of left overs!).

I need to point out, again, that this may also include men! Many times when we talk of these things we talk about women and children. It is true that there are too many women and too many children that have endured this type of lifestyle. However, there are also MEN who have gone through the same thing. There are MEN who have endured a life growing up being treated with the continued negative impact of being made to feel as if they had no value or worth to anyone. There are MEN out there, as well, who have lived with a spouse that has done the same - made them feel as if they were of no value or worth to anyone.

YOU WERE CREATED VICTORIOUS!

It is a long process to begin to believe that and live it but, it begins TODAY!

I want you to know this as well: realize it or not, you have already been a light to and for someone else! That's right. Perhaps they see your perseverance in a difficult situation. Perhaps they see that you can still smile at them when you see them. Perhaps others have seen and experienced your helpful touch. There are others that have looked and been encouraged and inspired by you. Yes, YOU!

Remember, "As long as there is breath, there is hope."

On a personal note: I got this graphic from a dear friend that simply told me that it hit close to home. I have no idea what has gone on in her life and I didn't ask her. If you are reading this - I love you! Thank you for sharing this graphic so that I could use it to hopefully help others. YOU are beautiful, YOU are of value and YOU were made VICTORIOUS!

Thank you, friends, for allowing me to share. Even though I don't know you, I care about you and for you. I'd love to hear from you and, at least, please be sure to share this and the information from the week with those that need it.

And, as always, as you go through your day, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Future You University   "Like" FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

                                         Start your home based business HERE
 

Love You! (Part 1)

Love YOU!

Yes, another way to say this is to "Love Yourself" - but I want to emphasize YOU! In today's podcast as well as in this blog entry, we are going to spend a little time with just two important points that I want you to consider today.

Before we do that, let's talk about what I DON'T mean when I say, "Love YOU!". We all realize that we are not alone in this world and that anything and everything we do has some sort of impact on others. You DO realize that, right?

That being so - and it is - we cannot afford to become so wrapped up in ourselves that we complete shut out the world around us and have no care or concern for those around us.

So, we're NOT talking about being SELF-ABSORBED.

Now, on the other side of that coin is the need for us to care about ourselves enough to be the best we can be. This is important for us and it is also important for that same impact on others I talked about earlier.

Do you care enough about YOU - love YOU enough - to take care of yourself spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically? If not, why not?

There are many in our world - and, no doubt, some that are reading this right now - that have been "beaten down" from an early age with cruel and deflating words. Sometimes these have come from "parents" (and I use that word loosely in this case) that told you early and often that you were worthless and/or no good.

That's hard to overcome!

Here's what often happens in a situation like that. You hear it again and again from someone that you expect to love you. So, if that person - that you think loves you - says it, then it MUST be true! You begin to believe it yourself and you begin to act as if you are of no value and you attract that in your life. Others that fuel their character deficiencies by dumping this type of negativity on others pick up on your feeling of inferiority and they gladly add to the pile of negativity that is heaped upon you.

After a period of time you develop such a huge belief of inferiority based on all of this, it is as if there is a huge concrete wall preventing anything good from ever reaching you.

POINT 1 FOR TODAY: It is NOT impossible to work through and break through that wall!

Now, understand - it won't be easy, but it IS possible! You are taking a step in that direction by reading this blog and, hopefully, listening to the podcast as well. A little at a time, you CAN make progress and chip away at that wall of negativity that surrounds you. Remember, "As long as there is breath there is hope!"

Don't get frustrated with yourself if you don't come out of this as quickly as you'd like. This didn't come on you overnight, did it? There are YEARS of layers that you have to work through and it WILL take time.

Also, realize that you may need to seek out professional help to get through this. There is no shame in that and it may be something you might consider.

POINT 2 FOR TODAY: Don't Use This As An Excuse!

Just as it is true that there are plenty of people out there ready to dump their negativity on you there are also plenty of people out there ready to help enable you to stay where you are.

What do I mean?

With the situation described above, you have a couple of choices: 1. Stay where you are and never come out of that feeling of inferiority or 2. DO something to change that in your life. Now, here's the kicker - sometimes we may SAY we want to do something to change our life and that we want to IMPROVE our lives, but we keep making excuses as to why we can't!

Think about it - by doing that, we are actually doing the very thing we DON'T want to do...stay in that prison of inferiority.

There are plenty of other people that will enable us to do just that by making excuses FOR US as to why we can't do anything powerful in our lives. I've seen this again and again. Instead of saying to a particular person, "You know, I know you have had a hard life and that there were some very difficult things that you had to live through, but it's time to claim the power in your own life and do something about it now!" they continue to make excuses such as, "We shouldn't expect too much from this person, after all, they had a rough time earlier in their life."

In my opinion, ENABLING is just as damaging as what was done in the first place with those harmful, negative words.

Excuses that you or others use to enable you to accept who/where you are KEEP YOU IN YOUR PRISON of inferiority!

DO NOT SETTLE FOR THAT!

We will continue this discussion tomorrow by going further into the idea of the importance of LOVING YOU, but I wanted to lay down these two principles right away for your consideration.

Hey, just remember - YOU CAN DO THIS!

And, as always...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike